Kingdom Hearts III: Sharkboy and Lavagirl
by Micro Magic
Summary: Prepare for a drooling trip to "Planet Drool". This is where local kid Max is heading, along with Sarox and his friends. How will they work with Sharkboy and Lavagirl to save the planet and Max's dream from going under? Stay tune.
1. Chapter 1: Dreams

**Please review this chapter.**

**ATTENTION:**

_Since there are two characters with the name "Max", one of them will be divided as "Max G." - the first letter of "Goof" to avoid confusion._

_Hope you'll enjoy reading the story._

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* * *

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_This is how I dreamed up a beautiful little world called "Planet Drool", because the planet was so beautiful and so fun that it could make any visitor drool. Even in their sleeps._

_When I walked to the ocean, I noticed a half-shark half-boy swim up to shore. He had gills, sharp claws and teeth, and a large fin that stuck out from his back. The boy called himself "Sharkboy". He told me that he'd lost touch with his father at sea when an electrical storm blew apart their laboratory long ago and had been looking for him ever since he learned to manage on his own._

_After he told his story, a girl whose hair was so pink and her body glowed in light, strong and warm like fire, appeared to us near the shore. Her back faced a far off, eruptive volcano. I called her "Lavagirl". She smiled at me, like I'd called out her real name. The smile on her face glowered like a bright shooting star flying past a dark night sky._

_This was my dreamworld - Planet Drool. This was the world I was staying in, where I would finally escape from my undesirable home world; a place that I despised more than anything else. A place where my parents were often quarreling with each other, a place where I would often be teased by schoolmates. A place where my dreams were called useless. This will be my home world now, I will escape reality once and for all to get here. I rested on a wide soft meadow, accompanied by Sharkboy and Lavagirl. The ground underneath cradled my body in a motionless way, a breeze blew past the meadow silently. When I opened my eyes again..._

* * *

Today was a regular day for daydreamer Max. A day at school, where he would get bullied by classmates as a misfit, a day where he wished that he could escape his world and dream of his lovely fantasized place: "Planet Drool". If he could sleep in class, he would. But sleeping would mean he was an unattentative student who hated school and getting suspended would be the result, and he'd promised his parents to be on his best behavior.

"I wish something would happen so that I wouldn't have to go to school," he muttered quietly, and then went toward school where the bullies awaited him.

"Hey, Max," said the head bully Linus on the school yard. "What's dreaming?"

Max eyed him with the same annoyance and hatred that he'd had since he first began school with him and his fellow classmates. He ran toward the gates with as much speed as he could manage when they started throwing folded paper at him. For some reason, Linus had always teased his dreams even though he had done nothing to his. As soon as he rushed into the hallway, the throwing stopped.

_What's his problem? Like I care either way. He's probably dreaming of dominating the world._ Max thought on his way to his locket.

"Hey, are you okay?"

He turned to face Marissa, the daughter of his home teacher, and his only potential friend. She was the only one who had ever been nice to him at school. "Yeah, I'm fine," he answered casually though he was anything but.

She smiled widely.

"Wanna go to class together?"

"Yeah, sure," he answered with a grin.

The teacher, Mr. Electricidad, and his parents have suggested that he try to make new friends this semester. They talked the whole way to classroom about the day's research team. The restoration committee of Radiant Garden.

"You wouldn't believe what Mr. Leon has to contain. He and Mr. Cid are researching something big, and I hear it's nasty too."

"Oh, really?" He hadn't noticed anything other than the joy of talking to a friend at the moment. _Maybe this isn't so bad after all,_ he thought joyfully.

"Max," the teacher called as soon as they walked into the classroom. Marissa made her way to the seat while he went to Mr. Electricidad.

"You, uh, trying to make some friends?" he asked widely.

"Yeah, just like what you told me."

"Good." Then his grin fell and became a frown as he added. "Just not with _my daughter_."

Max was shocked. He did not know that he wasn't allowed to be friends with Marissa. "But didn't you," he started.

"Back to your seat," Mr. Electricidad interrupted as if he hadn't heard him.

A staring into the teacher's eyes for a second, he went to his seat in the farthest back, feeling disappointed at the disapproval.

Marissa had been his only potential friend in the entire school; she was nicer to her than most children there. If she wasn't allowed to be her friend, then who will be? Only Sharkboy and Lavagirl, his only two friends that merely exist in his dreams.

He didn't notice Linus was in front of him, nor the foot he consciously set out to trip him.

Ow!

_"Linus!"_ he thought in response to the fall. Laughter filled the room now. He turned his head to the left side and up to face the mock smiling Linus before setting his legs straight again.

"Watch out where you trip, dream-boy," he said, smiling wider.

"Linus, that's not very funny, you get a minus for that," the teacher said.

Max ignored the laughter and Linus's very-unfunny-joke and headed to his seat, walking slightly faster than before. Flames scorched his heart, but did not escalate to open fire. For the rest of the hour, he looked out the window rather than listening to the teacher, dozing his mind into subconsciousness with his eyes open. He was there again, Planet Drool, where he swung around the Mount Neverest endless fun coaster, ate the treats of the Land of Milk and Cookies and rode on a Sharkboat with turbo boosters alongside Lavagirl and Sharkboy.

* * *

"Dreams?" Sarox echoed.

"Yes, and some pretty powerful ones as well," Merlin said. He took a sip of his tea and then started again. "But something is changing..."

Sarox turned to PJ and Max G. on the left side of the table, and then Marlene on the right. He turned back to Merlin again. "What do you mean by _something is changing_? And what does that have to do with anything?"

"Oh-hoohoohoo, I see you still have much to learn," he acknowledged.

He held out his wand and summoned up four cups of tea, and pieces strawberry cakes on plates and a fork in front of each of the kids. With another sip from his tea, he explained.

"There are many things in this world that fuel our existence. You see, dreams are part the essence in the hearts of children. When they grow up, those dreams shape their own forms by the dreamer's desire and personality, and thus give them power to become who they are meant to be or want to be."

Sarox nodded at the information.

"And like a person's power of heart, sometimes the dreamer's dreams are so powerful that they become a reality on their own. But it requires some deep attachment to generate such power."

They waited a minute. Sarox began the conversation again.

"But you said something is changing..."

"Oh, yes, that is why I'm worried. You see, there is a child in Radiant Garden who has the potential of making his dreams come true, but something is blocking him. Like someone is trying to infiltrate his dreams and corrupt them somehow."

"WHAT?" the kids yelled out in shock.

"They can do that?" Max G. asked.

"How?" Marlene added.

"Oh, well, they usually can't. But sometimes a dreamer can fuse his dreams with some objects. By sharing his feelings with those objects, they become the representations of the dreams, and so creates a dream portal. I doubt he knows he's doing it though."

Sarox thought for a minute. "So you're saying someone is trying to infiltrate some kid's dreams by accessing the representatives?"

"Yes, uh, precisely. Someone of bad intentions, maybe even a child with strong dreams of his own. And I'm afraid it's going to happen soon. And Sarox, I can sense that this child is rather particularly special in your case. That's why I summoned you back here. I want you to help him clear the blockage so he can see his full potential."

Sarox nodded. "Got it. Where is he now?"

"Well, only one place at this hour. The Radiant elementary school."

He left the table and went to the black bag in the corner. His hand searched the bag for a moment before taking out a scroll of paper, and returned to the table. He unfolded the scroll on the table. There was nothing, and then it began to fill itself with lines of black ink. Soon it became the diagram of a map; a big castle in the center. The lines stopped after a minute, formulating a huge circular city. Prominent places were marked with names.

It took them a minute to find the name they were looking for.

"Here it is," Max G. pointed on a spot entitled _Radiant Elementary_.

PJ traced the map's names and pictures until he finally their location. "Oh, man! We'll have to go all the way across town."

Sarox frowned. The day had been long enough. First, they were fighting Heartless roaming the Lanes Between after they located a new Keyblade Master in some distant world, then they were magically pulled to Radiant Garden before the battle could finish. And now, they were about to look for a child whose dreams are in potential danger. Long as it may have been, it was as though it wasn't going to end, just like the past months since their limitless mission began.

Sarox straightened his thoughts and gathered his spirits. "Alright, let's go," he said aloud, the doubt in his heart disappeared. "If someone needs help, then that's what we'll do. Right?"

He turned to Marlene for support. She smiled in encouragement. Their awareness of others in the room disappeared.

Max G. broke the sharing. "Gwarsh! They seem to have forgotten about us," he said out loud purposefully.

Sarox and Marlene turned away in embarrassment. Blushes wore their cheeks. PJ and Max G. shared a mock-smile, but said nothing.

"Oh," Merlin yelled without warning. "I almost forgot. Marlene."

"Yes," she responded politely, but the confusion was apparent.

He pointed his wand at the bag. Its mouth opened and a white crystal floated up in midair, and then flew to Marlene. She didn't need an explanation to know that it was a Summon Crystal. "Princess Garnet asked me to give you this Summon Crystal. She found it outside the city and believed you should bear it. That's why she asked me to hand it to you when you were in town. I had thought about letting her give it to you personally, but now that she's busy, I suppose I'll have to honor her request."

She smiled at the thought. She and Garnet hadn't been close until recently when they discovered that they were both part of a private bloodline: they were Princesses of Heart. Aside from that, they were also skilled in the power of summoning. It was delightful to her that Garnet thoguht of her as a friend.

"I'll have to thank her later," she muttered delightfully.

Sarox, PJ and Max G. grinned as well.

_There was this saying: "Everything that is or was began with a dream."_


	2. Chapter 2: Max

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PJ read the map for a third time since they entered the area.

"It should be around here," he said in an insecure tone.

"You said that like three times now," Max G. countered with a hint of sarcasm.

They scanned their surroundings, until a small school building in happy colors caught their eyes. In the center of the crowded front yard was a carving title that said _Radiant Elementary School_.

"There it is," Sarox said.

Though they had located the school, there was a _minor_problem: one of the children on the campus was the potential daydreamer. They just needed to find out who he or she is. It bothered Sarox that he forgot to ask Merlin the child's name.

"How're we going to find that boy?" Max G. asked toward no one specific.

"Remember, Mr. Merlin said the kid has something in possession that can access his dreams," PJ explained. "If we can find out what seems suspicious..."

"We can narrow it down?" Marlene picked up his line and trailed into a question.

_"Like that's the easiest thing to do,"_Sarox thought to himself.

He looked through the kids that crowded the yard. No one looked suspicious, but he knew they couldn't judge anything by the way it looks. He began to think through the few details he was given. _A boy who likes to dream... possesses something that represents them... has strong dreams_.

Before he could finish his train of thought, a group of Shadow Heartless emerged from the shadows and interrupted. The children shrieked and began to run back into the school in fear.

"Heartless!" Max confirmed with a loud scream.

"Out of all the times to get caught up with them," Sarox complained quietly as he pulled out his Keyblade.

The others pulled their weapons out; Sarox's arms clung around his torso before a force of invisible energy burst out of his clothes. In the next second, the colors on his outfit changed from black and white to gold and black. A white Keyblade appeared near his left hand, distancing by inches. Both the hand and Keyblade were covered in a golden yellow aura that magically tied them together.

"It's showtime!" he exclaimed confidently.

And then battle commenced.

* * *

Max ran toward the entrance with the other students. Running as fast as he could to escape the Heartless, a sudden pressure knocked his hand off balance and the journal in his hand disappeared behind the pressuring crowd of squeezing students that pushed him further away. He fought back the pressure, using all that strength that he could manage to fight through and reach his journal. It overwhelmed him in a matter of seconds.

Even though the monsters were hidden behind the running kids, he could see the "antennas" above their heads. He tried to maintain focus on retreating the journal, which was several steps away. Before he could come through, several sets of arms suddenly wrapped around his arms and torso, and pushed him back.

"Wait, my journal!" he said desperately. No one could hear him through the screams. He was pulled away, back into the building.

* * *

"We can't thank you enough," Mr. Electricidad said while shaking Sarox's hand.

He resumed his average form before Mr. Electricidad emerged to thank them.

"Those things never stop coming."

"Yeah, that can be annoying," Max G. commented sarcastically and then added. "But at least you have the town's defense mechanism and the Radiant Garden Protection Committee to watch your backs."

Mr. Electricidad nodded. Not many of the townsfolk had fighting skills as good as the committee. If anything happened, they could only count on them and the defense program to protect them.

"I suppose you're right."

Marlene looked around the area. It's become quieter than a few minutes ago, now that there were fewer kids in the yard. Some of them were probably still in class, others had returned home. Among the kids in the area, she noticed a boy with his back facing her. His head turned from left to right and back again several times every few seconds, focusing mainly on the ground. She slowly walked toward the boy, away from her friends.

"Hey," she said once she was close enough.

The boy turned his head over shoulder to look at her.

"Hey," he said politely.

"What're you looking for?" she asked carefully.

He returned to his search again. "My journal. I dropped it during the commotion. I'm sure it was here somewhere...," his answer trailed off into mutters in desperation. Marlene pitied the boy.

Meanwhile, a thought hit Sarox like a jackhammer.

"Sorry to ask. Merlin sent us here to look for some kid. Do you know anyone who likes to dream?" he asked the teacher directly.

It took him a moment to think through anything at all. "Well," he began. "There are many students here who like dreaming, but there's one boy in particular that likes to dream more than most of them. He's a student of mine, Max."

PJ turned to look at his friend, "Max". Apparently this boy shared the same name with his friend. Mr. Electricidad flickered his eyes around the yard for a moment, then found Max by a statue with Marlene standing a few feet behind him.

"There he is," he pointed.

They approached the boy together. "What're you looking for, Max?"

Max stopped searching and straightened to greet Mr. Electricidad.

"I dropped my journal around here when the monsters attacked."

Sarox worried. Was this journal a portal to his dream? Were those Heartless after the journal? He hadn't noticed any Heartless holding something during the fight. There weren't many of them, so it was easy to tell. Someone else must have picked it up.


	3. Chapter 3: Same Name, Different Persons

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Sarox, Marlene, Max G. and PJ spent two hours looking for the journal with Max, and ended up empty-handed.

"Sorry about your journal," Max G. said.

"It's alright," he responded in a less enthusastic tone. "I gotta go home. Bye."

He began walking away from them.

"Wait," Sarox called.

He stopped abruptly and turned around.

"My name's Sarox," he began and proceeded to introduce the others. "This is Marlene, PJ... and Max."

The boy's eyebrows creased together, astonished.

"Quite some confusion, isn't it?"

The sarcastic tone sent a thrill through Max, and the boy burst into laughs. It did not take long before the others were affected as well, and laughter filled the atmosphere.

"Bye," Max said again, and began to walk away.

"Bye," Marlene and Sarox responded in unison.

It wasn't until after he disappeared that Sarox realized that they were too late. The representative object of Max's dreams has been stolen. Hopefully they'll find out who it is before it became too late. He hoped that was the wrong child, but that wish was useless.


	4. Chapter 4: The Bad Dream

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_"Max, wake up!"_

_"Dream, Max."_

_"Close your eyes and dream..."_

_"Keep dreaming..."_

* * *

Max was 50 percent certain that he was dreaming. All he could see was colors, passing by rainbow colors, and a tall pointy pillar. On top of it was a large dark object shaped identically resembled a huge bed. But the voices were what convinced him that it was all a dream. None of the words made sense.

The voices faded away just as a dark cloud emerged the rainbow colors and swallowed it all. The darkness released an aura that made him fearful. He began to run toward the opposite direction, where the lights were presented. The dark cloud came forth, faster. Faster. He tried to increase his speed, run as fast he could manage, but it didn't outrun the darkness. It finally caught up. The darkness on the ground rushed past the ground beneath Max and black tentacles emerged from below. Some of the tentacles blocked his path, and tripped his legs. The moment he fell to the ground, the tentacles began to wrap around his his legs and torso. He flung around his arms with much strength, trying to break free of their hold. Every time he tried to fight through the tentacles, his arm just brushed past them. Eventually, he was wrapped all over. Disabled. Helpless. He released a loud scream.

* * *

Max's eyes forced open.

It took a moment before he the heat boiling in the blankets and the sweat that came from the shiver of the nightmare caught up with his sense of touch.

_What a nightmare,_ he thought quietly.

His eyes flickered to the side. The rocket-style alarm clock displayed 4:00 am in the morning. The day started 4 hours too early, the sun hadn't risen yet, night was still roaming the skies. Max dared not to move an inch. If he tried to leave bed, something could grab his ankles and pull him under.

Though he didn't want to remember the nightmarish bad dream, it stuck in his mind very clearly. He didn't know where it came from, but it was one of the most horrible nightmares he'd ever had. The dark void swallowed him whole, and all he could do was run and stay alive for as long as possible until it finally caught up. He shut his eyes again, trying to clear the nightmare from his head and hopefully dream of something good.

It worked after a few seconds.

* * *

Merlin gathered the kids around the table at 7:00 am. Tea and cakes were already served by the time they sat down. Sarox could tell from his worried look that something serious was about to transpire.

"I'm afraid we're running out of time," he began while sipping his tea. "This boy, Max, that you met yesterday must definitely be the child I sensed earlier. In fact, I sensed him again earlier today."

PJ looked out the open window. The sun had barely risen.

"Something has invaded his dreamworld, and I'm afraid it's only a matter of time before it corrupts them. Sarox, you must help Max find the journal as soon as possible."

"What good would that do?" he asked.

"Only the dreamer can correct his dreams once they become wrong," Merlin explained. "But to be able to do that, he needs guidance. And Sarox, he's around your age, so I think you'll be able to help him with that."

Sarox was confused now. "What do you mean I can? I'm not wise enough..."

"Oh-hoohoo, you'll know soon enough. I have faith in you, my boy. This is one thing that I can see in you as your own person."

He checked the cuckoo clock. "My, my, look at the time. School is starting soon, you best hurry. C'mon, eat up. You'll need your strength by then."


	5. Chapter 5: Dream Journal

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Sarox and his friends went to school right after breakfast with Merlin.

They arrived earlier than any student and to make sure that Max wasn't at school yet since they weren't allowed to be in the building. Sarox, Marlene and PJ waited on a nearby bench while Max G. patrolled the area.

Sarox inhaled the fresh morning air and took in the bathing sunlight. The relaxation reminded him of how it used to be like in school, how things were more peaceful in more than one way. Though the ball practices was a torment to the body, Sarox never complained much about it. In class, Marlene would help him with subjects he didn't understand, which was almost everything except English.

Though they were freed from the tormenting days of school life when Sarox and Marlene began their journey with Max G. and PJ, they weren't going on vacation. They were on a job to fight against a great dark power roaming the universe. They didn't feel it as a life-threatening pressure though. In fact, they enjoyed the journey after all this time. Their seemingly endless travels throughout the worlds had led them to joy as wide as the skies. By making friends in those worlds, they were thankful to be chosen for the job. But that didn't mean they forgot about the importance of the mission. If they failed, darkness would spread and devour all worlds in existence, and no one will be able to escape this fate.

"Hey, guys!" Max G. called, making his way to the bench. "No Heartless in the area, and Max is on his way."

They left the bench and started in Max G.'s direction until they spotted Max. Sarox shook his shoulders, and then approached him.

"Good morning, Max," he greeted politely.

"Good morning," Max answered with a grin.

He didn't know what else to say, so he asked directly but subtle. "So, did you find your journal?"

Max's grin turned into a frown and shook his head in response. Sarox's smile faded into a frown very quickly. Marlene approached the boys with Max G. and PJ and landed a hand on Max's shoulder, prompting Sarox to eye at her in surprise.

"Don't worry," she comforted Max. "I'm sure you'll find it."

Max's frown lifted to a light smile. That comfort sounded real in Marlene's voice, but they could tell it was just words. They knew that it was taken by someone, and unless that someone appears with the book in hand, they wouldn't be able to find it. Which was likely impossible since Merlin said that it was taken by someone with ill intentions.

They were soon joined by Marissa.

"Good morning," she greeted.

Max answered with a lighthearted tone. "Good morning."

"Well, well, well, if it ain't dreamboy Max," a boy said in a mocking tone from behind.

Sarox, Marlene, PJ and Max G. turned to see a brown haired, round-faced boy in a black and purple shirt with white lines and a large "L" on the chest. Max didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

"Linus," he muttered under his breath before turning around to face his head bully. Sarox could hear the disgust in his voice.

"Hey, Max, look what I found yesterday," Linus said as if he hadn't heard Max while reaching into his backpack and took out a brown-skinned book. Max recognized it as his dream journal. "My dream journal!" he said out loud.

"You dropped it during the commotion yesterday afternoon, so I figured I might as well keep it. Because you know, it looks awful and I wanna puke on it."

Max felt a strong fire that boiled in him.

"Give me my book!"

"Sorry, dude, finders keepers."

"That book's not yours to begin with, Linus!" Marissa said defensively.

"Who asked you to talk, little girl?"

Anger began to rise in Sarox, but he fought it back and thought through his options. "Hey, that's enough! You can either give Max back his book or you can await to answer to your teacher when we report to him about this. Just because we're not students here doesn't mean we can't tell the teachers what we saw."

Linus eyed Sarox angrily. After a moment, he held out the journal and Max took it. Marlene noticed Linus form a cunning smile as Max began to flip through the book. The first page was covered by a cross in black ink, the second by a wave; he rapidly flipped through other pages. Every single page was added with black inks that covered the original pictures. Max's flames increased by every passing page. Pain and anger traveled through his heart and mind. He eyed Linus with immense hatred and yelled out with as much force: "HE'S RUINED MY DREAM JOURNAL!"

Linus's smile remained as cunning. "Your book was too disgusting, I had to REVISE it! Guess if the teacher will buy your story when I tell him you've already ruined it by the time I picked it up."

Max's heart burned like a volcano's eruption. PJ, Marlene, Sarox and Max G. shared worried looks. The object that represented Max's dreams was now ruined. They were too late...

Suddenly, the book burst into a bright light. Max shut his eyelids while the others shielded their faces with their hands. The light spread, swallowing everyone in it. Sarox wanted to see what was going on, but the blinding light made his body completely immobilized. Then, as if he hadn't slept in days, he began to feel heavily sleepy, and then fell...


	6. Chapter 6: Sharkboy and Lavagirl

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Sarox felt the hard, solid ground beneath his body and sand under his face as he regained consciousness. His nose smelled something singe. He searched through his body until he found his eyes and opened them.

The sand under one side of his face and the ground were oddly covered in purple. He drove energy through his body and lifted to see his surroundings. The first thing he found was Max lying unconscious in front of him. He turned his head to the other side, and lost his breath at the new view. It took a long minute before he began breathing again.

They were under a sky of colorful lights with stars spread over the horizon, purple clouds and florescent flowing all over. He could see several big planets above the sky, flowing, but not falling down to the planet. He shifted his sight lower down to see a wasteland in purple sand and high hills, but the temperature didn't feel as burning to his skin as it should have been. When he looked to the other side, a scenery caught his absolute attention: a bright landscape several hundred miles away. A combination of fluorescent lights and fireworks that surrounded a single humongous hill pointing up toward the sky, with what looked like roller coaster tracks wrapped around it in spin. He could then see a lively amusement park under it. All machines moved actively. It looked as if there was no rest for anyone. There were other strange hills behind it. Not wrapped in coaster tracks, but in different colors. Rather than purple, there were orange, and in the far, far abyss, a strange tower in white that looked like ice.

That they were no longer in Radiant Garden was a certain case; the scenery of was too mesmerizing and unfamiliar.

"I don't think we're in _Radiant Garden_ anymore," he muttered after a long minute.

He looked around the area for his friends, but saw none other than Max. He hoped that they were alright. Most of all, he wished that Marlene was alright and safe.

Max moaned as he came to.

"Are you alright, Max?" Sarox asked.

He nodded, and then took in the new view. "What is this place?" he asked without looking at Sarox.

"I don't know."

Max looked to the hills and was immediately captured by its beautiful view. It took a moment before he felt nostalgic by it.

"Odd. It looks... familiar somehow."

Sarox eyed him in surprise. "You've been here before?"

He tried to remember, but no memory appealed to him. Yes, his heart felt very familiar with the place, but he just couldn't remember. He shook his head slowly in response to Sarox's question.

"Not really. I feel like I should, but I just don't."

The memory blind spot was like a 10 pounds ton that burdened his heart. He knew he recognized the scenery, but not a single memory recalled.

Sarox looked at the large hill with him.

The admiration interrupted by a sound of loud thunder exploding behind them. They turned to see a thick black, thundering cloud heading straight in their direction. Sarox could sense a deep, malicious power emanating from it. This became his alarm to protect Max. From the dark depths, a group of Shadow Heartless suddenly emerged about ten feet away from them. Sarox immediately drew out his Keyblade and formed a protective stance in front of Max.

"It's those monsters!" Max said in fear.

"Max, run!" he warned.

Max did as instructed, but a group of three Soldier Heartless emerged, blocking his escape. Sarox rushed to Max's side and shielded him with his arm.

"Max, stay close beside me."

They stepped backward while the monsters approached. Max took a look behind them, then tagged on Sarox's back, prompting him to turn his head around. Max pointed to the back with his thumb. With a quick eye shift, he could see the edge they were approaching. Sarox refocused on the approaching monsters, thinking quickly through his options that could lead them away from the cliff. He found none.

The Heartless were ready to attack, and Sarox won't be able to fight back with Max by his side.

An unexpected mass of burning lava suddenly dropped from the air. One quarter of the Heartless perished in the lava; which prompted the rest to retreat before it could melt them as well. Sarox and Max looked up. There was no volcano nearby that could trigger the lava. Then, they caught sight of a set of blowing pink hair, a girl covered in pink and burning burgundy rocks attached to her arms, legs and suit. She wasn't alone. A black spiky haired boy stood beside her. He wore a dark gray suit with matching gloves and boots. The chest was engraved with what looked like sharp teeth and triangle mouth.

They jumped down from the hill together and landed gracefully on the ground, only fifteen feet away from the distressing boys. Max recognized their appearances immediately, and muttered their identities in shock. "_Sharkboy_... _Lavagirl_..."

Sarox looked over his shoulder to him in surprise.

Those were characters of Max's dreams, created in different ways, existing only in his dreams. How can they be so real? So close?

The boy glared at the Heartless for a moment, his glance promised violence, and then charged at the monsters. Three of them charged at him. With one punch, he managed to impact the three Heartless and send them flying through the air. He then flipped into the air and landed amongst the Heartless and a violent fight began.

Sarox and Max stared in amazement and shock. Until Lavagirl approached.

"Follow me, quick," she said while waving an arm at them. "We have to get away from the Darkness."

She pointed to the thunder clouds. Sarox and Max did as instructed and ran down a path leading downward. Sharkboy followed quickly. Lightning wasn't far away, and after they escaped, the place they were at was completely shrouded by darkness.

Max, Sarox, Sharkboy and Lavagirl ran until they reached a safe peak near the large amusement park.

Sharkboy concentrated as he listened.

"We should be safe here for a while," he confirmed.

"Are you okay? What's your name?" Lavagirl asked Sarox.

"I'm Sarox," he answered, and then asked his own question. "Who are you?"

She glowed in a smile. "I'm Lavagirl. And that's Sharkboy - we're both creations from Max's dreams."

Sarox turned to Max who stared at his imaginary characters in disbelief and astonishment.

"Are you guys... real?" he muttered.

Sharkboy and Lavagirl turned to him now. Lavagirl answered, "As real as we can be."

"And we're in some _real_trouble," Sharkboy interjected. "That's why we brought you here, Max. We need help from your powers."

Max and Sarox froze at the new information.

"I have powers?" he asked.

"More than any of us," Lavagirl answered. "Don't you know that? Everything that is or was began with a dream. And you dreamt us, Max. Us and Planet Drool."

Max refocused on the scenery up ahead. "This is _Planet Drool_?"

_This is Planet Drool? The world that I dreamt up? But it's so real,_ he thought while trying to make out what was going on.

"Oh, that's it," he said out loud with a wide smile across his face.

"What?" Sarox added.

"I'm dreaming. This is all just a dream. Those monsters, Sharkboy and Lavagirl, even you, Sarox."

That last statement froze Sarox. Lavagirl's smile fell into a frown. He hadn't thought that he could be a dream. Or maybe he was the one dreaming.

Max shut his eyes tight. "And when I open my eyes, you'll all be gone."

Sharkboy and Lavagirl shared confused looks. He opened his eyes again, blinking once. Nothing happened. He was still standing on the ground of Planet Drool.

"We're still here, Max," Lavagirl stated.

He was beyond fright now. Sarox put his hand on Max's shoulder.

"Max, I think there's something connected to this whole matter."

Max turned to him. "What are you talking about?"

He hesitated for a moment.

"I was asked to find you, Max. Merlin the wizard sensed that someone was trying to ruin your dreams, so he asked me to look after you. He said your dreams are very special and that you needed my help."

"My dreams are special?" he repeated the words.

He nodded.

"And I'll bet this someone is doing a very good job at it. That's why Planet Drool is so messed up," Sharkboy interjected. "And that's why we need you to save it before the Darkness destroys it."

Max looks over the landscape again, this time a bit distraught.

"But how?" he asked.

Lavagirl pointed forward.

"The Dream Lair is on the other side of the planet. That's where your dreams are being destroyed. We have to go there and reverse it. Unfortunately, it's quite a long way to go. We have to travel through the Passage of Time, catch the Train of Thought, swim down the Stream of Consciousness, and skate across the Sea of Confusion, now covered in ice."

Sharkboy glared aggressively at Max. "Why'd you do it, Max?" he asked. "Why'd you freeze the ocean?"

His glancing promised violence. As he began to lean forward, Sarox leaped forth to pull Max away and Lavagirl restrained Sharkboy, but accidentally sent a burning hand on his arm. Shakboy yelled out in pain.

"Max didn't mean to do it," she assured. "He is a good boy, otherwise you and I would be evil, and we're evil."

She hesitated at the statement and turned to Max for support.

"I'm not evil, am I, Max?"

Everyone glanced at him with different expressions, Sarox was curious, Sharkboy and Lavagirl hesitant.

"I don't, I don't think so," he answered hesitantly. "But I didn't make you evil."

Lavagirl relieved, and then continued. "That's why we brought you here. To put things back in order. We just have to think positive."

Everyone went silent for a moment, until a sudden burst of thunder broke in.

"The Darkness, it's coming. We have to run before it gets us!" he said, and then sprang toward the opposite direction of the malicious clouds. "Come on!"

The other three followed quickly until they reached a wide cliff facing the lively amusement park six miles away. The bottom was at least as high as a ten-level building. The Darkness was getting closer by the second. Sarox and Lavagirl looked around the area for an open pathway that could lead them down to the bottom of the mountain.

Sarox found a pathway one half mile away from the ravine. "There!"

The others looked to the path; it was closer to the moving Darkness than they. If they ran to it, the Darkness would reach them faster. And there was no guarantee that they would be fast enough to escape it.

"It's too close to the Darkness," Lavagirl confirmed. "We'll have to find another way."

They tried to look for an alternate road again. There was none.

That only left one option. Sharkboy glared on the cliff down for any open edges, rock, or trees with his keen sight. It did not take long before he found a large rock that pointed out from the cliff, about ten feet underneath, and a smaller rock about seven feet lower. But he did not have to time look for more.

"We have to climb down to the bottom. Come on," he urged the others, and then jumped down from the edge and reached the first rock.

"Follow us," Lavagirl said before she jumped down the cliff.

Max observed the cliff. It was too high, too impossible for him to climb down. The bottom was several levels under. He did not have the same reflexes as Sharkboy and Lavagirl. His feet began to drag him backwards. "I, I, I can't, I can't do that."

Sarox looked down the two kids and the bottom of the cliff. The height piqued a small portion of fear inside him, but he snapped out of it with a deep breath. _It's now or never_, he thought.

He held out his hand and summoned his Keyblade. Then, with a burst of magical energy, his clothes were turned into crimson colors with black hinges. A small red fleu-de-lis symbol covered each sleeve of his T-shirt, while larger ones appeared on his pants. His hand that was free a moment ago was now holding a second Keyblade, with purple and white colors, and engulfed by yellow stars and a crescent moon on its teeth. His body released a frightening red aura and red electricity ran between his Keyblade and arms. Max stared at him in amazement and shock at the new glowing appearance. Sarox turned to him with a confident smile.

"Hold on to me, Max," he said. "I'll take you down the cliff."

He offered his hand, but Max just stood in his spot, frozen by fear. Sarox looked to the thundering clouds again.

"We don't have to time to hesitate, Max," he urged. "If we stay here, we'll get caught. Hurry!"

Max doubted for another second, and then reluctantly took Sarox's hand, who quickly pulled him onto his back with his new strength. The Keyblade on his left hand disappeared into thin air. Sarox used his free hand to grab hold of Max's leg, and then jumped off the edge. He struck his other Keyblade into the cliff edge and started to skid down toward the bottom with his feet leading the way. Wind blew up as they skidded at almost the immense speed that could kill them the moment they hit the bottom, but the Keyblade slowed them down and clung them to the side. Max stared down the cliff with wide eyes, expressing overwhelming fear. It did not take long before they saw Lavagirl and Sharkboy climbing half-way. Sharkboy, hearing the skidding noise from above, looked up.

The moment Lavagirl looked up, they skidded past them like wind.


	7. Chapter 7: Mr Electric

**Please review this chapter.**

It took a few minutes before Sharkboy and Lavagirl reached Sarox and Max on the bottom. He had already undone his transformation. Max laid down on the ground as though he was still reeling from the frightening experience, his breathing was heavy. Lavagirl looked at Sarox with a wide grin while Sharkboy glared in annoyance.

"Very impressive, Sarox," Lavagirl complimented. "Very nicely done."

Sarox used a second to take in the compliment, then turned serious again. "Come on, we have to get away from here before the Darkness gets to us."

He turned to Max. "Max? Are you okay?"

Max nodded with a heavy breath and muttered. "Yeah, just need a minute to catch my breath."

"You can't, the Darkness will be covering this place soon. We have to get away from here," Lavagirl disagreed.

Max quickly gathered as much strength on his arms as he could manage and pushed himself up. Then, Sharkboy and Lavagirl led the run.

They ran down the mountain, running toward the amusement park. Seconds later, the Darkness covered the bottom of the cliff. Its black clouds were still approaching from behind. If they couldn't find speed up their running, it would catch up to them, and they knew it.

Sharkboy scanned hastily around the area as he ran. Eventually he spotted an active but unused transporter that connected a railway headed straight toward the park: Mount Neverest. "There's transport," he pointed and ran past everyone else, taking the lead. "We can use it to get to Mount Neverest faster."

As soon as they embarked, the transporter began to move down the rail, running twice as fast as they sprang. The clouds were left behind in seconds.

They relaxed after the long escape, except Sharkboy, who refocused on the road up ahead.

"Look," he pointed to the amusement park. "It's Mt. Neverest."

Max looked up to the park. They traveled into the bright lights emitted from there, and then, memories began to refill within him. It was as though the fluorescence contained a certain memory within. But, something was quite right. The machines were moving lively. Too lively. The only noises he could hear were the constant moving sounds from the machines. Something was lacking from the park.

"Where is everybody?" he asked. "There's no one in the park."

"That's because most of them are trapped on Mt. Neverest," Lavagirl answered.

"By Mr. Electric," Sharkboy added.

That didn't make sense to Max.

"But Mt. Neverest is a place for kids to dream and have endless fun."

"It's endless fun, all right. Once you get on, you can't get off."

The transporter traveled to the edge of the park and stopped. Once it reached its destination, the kids disembarked.

By now, they were inside the park. Sarox could hear the distinct sound covered by all the noises, there were cries. He looked up to the long wide roller-coaster trail until a carriage went past his sight at full speed. He finally understood.

"Those kids are trapped on that gigantic rollercoaster," he confirmed.

Lavagirl, Sharkboy and Max looked up as well.

"Yep, Mr. Electric had them taken to the coaster to prevent them from sleeping," Lavagirl said.

"Why would he want that?" Max asked, confused.

"If the kids sleep, they dream and it takes a huge amount of power away from Mr. Electric," Sharkboy explained.

Sarox focused on the kids, not wanting to leave them trapped, summoned his Keyblade. "Well, I'm not gonna stand here and let him have his way with those children," he said and charged.

Sharkboy, Max and Lavagirl gave each other a look for a moment then trailed off after him. The closer they came to the coaster, the larger it became, viewing an endless train track that almost covered the air above them. Sarox looked up, found the coaster... seventy feet in the air. He immediately transformed into Valor Form and jumped agilely in the air, catching and leaping as he leaped for tracks on the way. Lavagirl and Sharkboy jumped after him with the equally strong agility. Max jumped and fell. He looked down on his body, then back to the three jumpers. "Why can't I do that?" he asked rhetorically. Sharkboy jumped back down to Max and forcefully hurled him onto his back, then leaped after Lavagirl and Sarox again.

Sarox hastily reached for the carriage, un-summoned his Keyblades and grabbed a wire attached to the back of the carriage. His shoes sparked as he pulled with all his enhanced strength. The carriage continued to move at full speed. Lavagirl jumped to the front and pushed her hands forcefully on the deck, combining with Sarox's pull, then directed one of her hands to the side and fired lava on the coaster track, melting the metal bars and the carriage slowed to a stop. It did not take long before Sharkboy and Max caught up with them. Sharkboy and Sarox breathed heavily from exhaustion.

"Is everyone okay?" Max asked, still on Sharkboy's back.

He eyed at Max with a hint of anger, then dropped him on the track and helped Sarox free the kids.

_Who is stopping my unstoppable coasters?_

Sarox and Max looked around for the source of the voice in confusion.

"Go, run, hide," Lavagirl warned the kids.

Sharkboy led them to an emergency ladder nearby and gestured them to climb. After the kids all climbed to safety, probes and mechanic robots appeared out of nowhere.

"Mr. Electric's robots," he said with an angry tone.

_Take them to me._

The robots launched at the foursome. Sharkboy kicked one of the robots back, impacting two others behind it. Sarox summoned his Keyblades and jumped with his arms pulled over his shoulders, then struck with full force and cut two robots in halves. Lavagirl focused her hands at two robots coming her way and fired lava, melting their metallic arms and then bodies like liquid. Sarox struck down the last robot and then looked around. At first, only Sharkboy and Lavagirl were visible in his range, then he found one person missing.

"Max," he said in a confused tone.

"Over here," Max responded and emerged from the right side of the roller coaster.

"Those were only Mr. Electric's underlings," Sharkboy forewarned and looked at the high mountain. "We have to get to his lair."

"Who is Mr. Electric?" Max asked. He had been curious since they first mentioned the dude's name.

"He's a robot that's supposed to provide light to Planet Drool," Lavagirl explained with a calm and serious tone. "But all he brings now is Darkness. We have to get to the Dream Lair to restore the planet's core, but first we need to defeat him."

_So you wanna unplug me, huh? Well, then come to my lair, and let's have some fun,_ the voice appeared again.

The roller coaster's engine started roaring again. They knew that this was their cue.

Sarox held his hand out in front of Max.

"Come on," he said. Max obeyed and accepted his hand, then he dragged up on the train's front seat and pulled down the safety bar, and then stood in between the front and second front seats with his hand holding onto one of the seats. Lavagirl jumped agilely upon the deck and knelt in position; and Sharkboy knelt beside Sarox with his hand holding one side of the train. Then engine roared louder, the wheels shook and then ran into the hollow mountain filled with nothing but long train tracks that seemed to go through every hole in the mountain. The forceful wind and velocity blew their colorful hair back, but everyone held in place. The vehicle moved around in circles, missing large stones only by inches, then began to follow the road straight toward the mountain top. Max felt his heart climbing up his throat and his breath caught in between as the force came rushing toward his face. His hands grabbed on the metal bar in front of him with as much force as available. A loud sound of laughing echoed in the hollow dome.

"He's taking us up!" Sharkboy exclaimed.

The train ran faster, faster and faster, until it reached the end of the road and flew off track out of a giant hole pointing at the sky. Max's heart thumped like a jackhammer that would kill him before the train does. The moment they flew out of the hole, the heavy vehicle stopped in midair. Lavagirl saw a giant volcano in front of her.

"My home," said she and added, "at half its normal power."

As gravity pulled them back down, the train's head turned around and fell into an open hole. Sharkboy, Lavagirl and Sarox held in place even harder. The train hit a new section the moment it fell collided with the track, and began to fall downward. Max's heart continued to thump with the speed as they ran in circles again.

"He's taking us down!" Sharkboy confirmed.

The ride turned to one side and began to slow. Lavagirl, Sharkboy and Sarox eased their grips. Max's heart began to calm down and his breathing order began to recover. After a minute, they were traveling at normal speed in a gigantic tunnel with two metal barred gates in front of them. The gates opened up and invited them inside. The train slowed to its ending destination. Sharkboy hopped off the second by it stopped, and Lavagirl followed. Sarox pulled up the metal bar around Max. Then his energy ran out and de-transformed. He looked on his normal clothes.

"Oh, well, I guess I've been in this form for so long the energy ran out," he said with an embarrassed expression.

"Hey, come on," Sharkboy commanded in determination. "Showtime!"

He and Lavagirl walked toward a long metal bridge with nothing but large plugs on the sidelines. Sarox and Max followed quickly as they took in the view. They could tell that it was the core of Mt. Neverest by the sight of the endless upside that viewed no ceiling. As they walked down the bridge, the whole view closed in and revealed a giant hollow base with nothing but what looked to be computers, operators and metal sidewalks attached to the sides with no visible stairs nearby. Fluorescent lights were the only radiance that brightened up the place. Sarox glanced lower down. The downside was a mirrored view, but on the lower levels, there were shadows that grew under each level. The bottom had no light that could reveal what was under. He refocused on his level and saw a giant operator at the end of the bridge. Above the computer was a 3-D television screen that seemed to show a set of kids running around the area in fear. Underneath the screen was a giant round robot that seemed to be operating the computer. It had no arms or legs. Rather it had electric shocks that connected its hands and feet. Lavagirl and Sharkboy were already standing behind it. Sarox and Max caught up with them shortly.

"Keep playing. Never stop. Games and toys and laugh - Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. And fun," said the robot to the kids on the screen.

"Mr. Electric," Lavagirl shouted with a tone of hatred.

The robot stopped his business, turned off the operator and turned around. Its face was covered by a round glass that held the duplicate of Max's teacher back on Radiant Garden.

"Well, well, well, if it ain't Sharkboy and Lavagirl," he said and then spotted Sarox and Max. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Mr. Electric."

"Why are you bringing misery to our planet? You're supposed to be running it," Lavagirl's question trailed off into a confirmation.

"_You're supposed to be running it,_" he imitated and then answered. "I am running it. Right into the ground. Those are my orders. No school, no discipline, no rules. And most importantly - no dreams."

Max felt his heart pumping with blood, pumping with fear.

"Dreams can destroy you, can't they? My instincts tell me that it's so," Sharkboy suspected.

"Oh, really?"

Lavagirl pointed at him as she said her words. "That's why we have to stop you."

Max stared at her in surprise. _"We?"_ he thought.

"You and what army?"

Then, strange sounds came up behind them. It was a combination of metal pulling and electric shocks, and there were many. They looked behind them and saw the giant plugs come to life and face them with a sense of intelligence. They all sparkled electricity that was enough to kill a person. Sarox drew out his Keyblade while Sharkboy held up his fists.

One plug moved toward him, but he jumped out of its way in time for Lavagirl to melt it. He then jumped up to a second level where he met three sets of plugs. Lavagirl went to another side of the platform, but found herself surrounded. She heated up her hands and fired more lava than before. The impact sent her up in the air like a rocket before the plugs reached her.

Sarox hid Max behind him while the aggressive plugs approached. He pointed with his Keyblade and shouted, "Freeze." A crystal of ice appeared in the weapon's tip and flew out toward the coming plugs, knocking them several yards away. A new plug appeared from under. Sarox ran a few feet away from Max, exposing him, then stopped short and turned his head over his shoulder. He knew if Max would be in danger if he wasn't there to protect him. He lifted his Keyblade and said, "Wind". And then, he was surrounded by a strong wind current.

"Don't worry, the wind will shield you from those plugs. I'll be right back."

With that, he turned his attention back to the plug, but it was too late. It reached his face and shocked, the impact sent him flying over Max's head across the bridge. Max looked at fearful at the fallen Sarox and then to the deadly plug that was moving toward him now. The moment it touched the wind, the current bounced off and sent it away, protecting him. He began to feel calmer by the safe magic and ran to help Sarox to his feet.

Sharkboy knocked away the electric monsters before they could touch him. Then, a wire caught his attention as it wrapped around his body. When it pulled up, his feet lost touch to the floor and fell off in circles. Other plugs shocked him the moment he fell down to the lower level, preventing him from getting up on his feet. Sarox and Max saw him then.

"Sharkboy!"

Sarox pointed his Keyblade and blasted a fireball at one of the plugs, melting it. Sharkboy caught the option to reflexively flip himself off the floor and destroy the other plug.

Lavagirl burned away her enemies and turned to Mr. Electric. He held out his electric hands and fired at her, sending her falling off the floor. Sarox, Max and Sharkboy immediately went to her side.

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

"He's strong, it won't be easy to defeat him," Sharkboy said without a tone of worry.

"I'm not worried. we have our secret weapon, remember? C'mon."

She and Sharkboy ran to Mr. Electric's side again, their fists up and ready. Sarox and Max stopped a few feet away from them.

"Oh, my, my. Kids. Do you really think you could stop me?" he asked.

His electric arms moved, as if he was flexing.

"I know we can't," Lavagirl answered, then pointed behind her. "But _he_ can. - Take it away, Max!"

Sarox looked curiously at Max. He was curious with what he could do.

Max held up his fists hesitantly. Everyone waited. Nothing happened. Sharkboy and Lavagirl turned to him in confusion.

"Show him what you're made of, Max."

"What am I supposed to do?" he whispered loud enough to everybody to hear.

They dropped their hands in disappointment.

"I told you this would happen," Sharkboy said.

"I thought he would just remember," she argued.

"Remember what?" Max asked.

"The dream. Remember the dream."

"I don't remember half my dreams. That's why I write them in my dream journal."

Before anyone could talk more, Mr. Electric took the opportunity to point his hands at Max and fire a bolt of powerful electricity. Sarox reflexively ran into the way, taking the hit into himself. The power nullified his nerves and sent him flying off the bridge and fall toward the dark bottom. Sharkboy, Max and Lavagirl could only watch as he disappeared.

"Sarox!" Max shouted in loudly.

Then, they were captured by Mr. Electric's arms and lifted off the floor. He laughed like the best time of his life.

"Where are you taking us?" Lavagirl asked.

"Where all the useless dreams go. To the Dream Graveyard," he answered as his arms hovered in the air, and then dropped them down the pitch darkness. His voice shrieked with laughter.


	8. Chapter 8: The Dream Graveyard

**Please review this chapter.**

Sarox felt cold and hard metal beneath his body and gears running in his ears as he began to regain consciousness. His eyes refocused and slid open. The light in the area came rushing through his sight, forcing him to close. When he pushed himself up, he slowly opened again. It took a few seconds before they adjusted to the light.

That he was no longer in Mr. Electric's lair was clear. He was sitting on a transporter that went down a railroad track several meters over an open desert, with several gigantic clocks of every sort floating in the area. When he looked to the front, a red pillar-like mountain caught his attention. The mountain top was entirely dominated by what looked to be a large bed that could fill twenty people, and waves of red fluorescence around it.

The lift reached a dead end over the top of a black mountain. A large gravestone stood nearby entitled "Dream Graveyard". He got to his feet and jumped off the lift before it reached the road's end and landed on black sand and rocks. But that wasn't all: the entire land was filled with broken giant toys, cars, ripped off books and a large ship with holes cracked everywhere. Nothing could enter without falling through a fragile wooden floor. It looked like a wasteland of broken objects: crushed dreams. His attention was cut short by the distant sound of another lift coming down the same road. The lift turned downward and connected with a reversed road at the rail's end, dropping Lavagirl, Sharkboy and Max to the ground. Max landed on top of Sharkboy's back like a giant boulder had fallen off place.

Sarox immediately went to their side and asked, "Are you guys okay?"

"I-I think you broke my fin," Sharkboy moaned to Max.

He immediately climbed off and apologized. "Sorry."

Sharkboy looked over his shoulder at his broken fin before turning to Max with an angry glare. Sarox and Lavagirl looked on in worries.

As much as he wanted to help, there was a question that Sarox needed to ask.

"Where are we?"

They stood up before Lavagirl answered his question. "The Dream Graveyard. It's where all the forgotten dreams on Planet Drool are landed."

He looked at the slippery cliffs behind them. They were too high and too steep to climb.

"How do we get out of here."

"I don't know."

"It would've been a lot easier if Max had his dream journal with him," Sharkboy groaned angrily.

* * *

_"I was awakened."_

"Sorry," Mr. Electric apologized to the floating inverted face.

_"Did all the children from Mount Neverest escape?"_

"With Sharkboy and Lavagirl, but I took care of it, see."

The computer screen displayed the moment when Sarox got blasted off floor, then to the moment when he dropped Lavagirl, Sharkboy and Max to the bottom.

_"Someone was with them?"_

"Just a kid afraid of his own shadow and a boy who tries to act like a hero. No threat to us. I banished them both to the Dream Graveyard."

This didn't relieve the face.

_"Where old dreams lie? They could an ally. I told you. Every dream must be smashed. Every child captured."_

Mr. Electric's smile did not falter. "If you want them back I'll simply track them down when they fall asleep."

_"Fool. One of them is the Daydreamer. And the moment he realizes it will be the moment of our doom. The other one may not be as powerful, but he will be a powerful ally to him. It won't be easy with him and Sharkboy and Lavagirl protecting the boy."_

His face fell to a frown now. "Now what do you want me to do?"

_"Bring me the boy before he discovers his true powers and tears my new kingdom apart!"_

"Alright! I will," he promised. The face disappeared like thin air, and then Mr. Electric began to take action. "Plugs, redirect the Darkness. And... bring me my Plughounds!"

A barred door instantly opened. An entire pack of dog-acting plugs with wire-legs and barks emerged. Mr. Electric smiled evilly at his Plughounds.

* * *

The quartet have walked for what seemed like hours in the Dream Graveyard, trying to find a path that could lead them somewhere else.

"We'll never find our way out of this graveyard," Lavagirl said hopelessly.

_Okay, Sarox, think,_Sarox mumbled as he brainstormed till an idea occured to him. "Hey, didn't you say that Planet Drool is made of Max's dreams?"

They looked curiously at him. "Yeah?" Sharkboy answered.

"So if Max dreamt up this whole world, then doesn't that mean he can dream up new things? Like a transport or a machine that flies."

Lavagirl began to illuminate with a smile. "Great thinking, Sarox."

"He can dream us outta here," Sharkboy said with a calm voice, though his feelings were anything but.

With that she dragged Max to a nearby giant red lego. Her leaned down toward him and said gently. "Sit down, Max. Close your eyes and dream."

He slowly closed his eyes. In a few seconds a grin lit his face.

"So what do you see?"

"I see a...," he muttered, " a giant marshmallow cookie... with lots of warm milk."

He opened his eyes again and saw Lavagirl's grin had fallen to a frown, which was universal with Sharkboy. Sarox just stared annoyed at him. "Sorry, I'm starving."

Sharkboy rolled his eyes and said sharply. "Forget it. Max needs to dream us outta here. So I say I'll put him to sleep right now."

He made a fist to prove his point. Lavagirl and Sarox immediately pulled Max from his position; and then Sarox put his hand on Sharkboy's chest, trying to restrain him. Lavagirl hid Max behind her, standing in between him and Sharkboy.

"No, Sharkboy," she forbid him.

"Just one punch, he'll be out like a light."

He began to approach Max and Lavagirl. Sarox put both of his hands on Sharkboy's shoulders and pushed. He didn't back away as he should, rather it was him who slid across the sandy ground. He pushed harder then, his feet struggled forward. Nothing helped. It was like pushing a moving truck.

"Sharkie, don't do this," Lavagirl warned as she gestured Max to back away.

He obeyed, and backed until his back hit a hard wall. His eyes automatically flickered to the metal wall behind him. Its appearance piqued a memory inside him.

"Wait a minute," he said absentminded. "I've seen this before."

Sharkboy's focus broke. He refocused on the giant lego toy in front of them. Sarox and Lavagirl did the same.

"It's a hand," Max said and looked away, then pointed to his left. "Another hand."

They looked to the second toy, several meters from their spot.

"Yeah?" Sharkboy asked.

Max looked around, until he caught the sight of a giant robot made of cans that lied half buried in the ground about twenty yards away from them. Its eyes shut like it was asleep. Max remembered it by its appearance. "It's _Tobor_."

"Who is that?" Lavagirl asked curiously.

They followed Max until they reached his side.

"Tobor. I-I dreamt him up when I was six years old. A robot that could help me with my homework," he reminisced, "I tried to build him once. But everybody just kept telling me he would never work. So here he is."

"A forgotten dream in the Dream Graveyard," Sharkboy confirmed.

"Is there any way he can help us?" Sarox asked.

Now that they were in this situation, any form of allegiance would be appropriate.

"He is supposed to be very smart," Max said, and then commanded, "Tobor, awake!"

Tobor's eyes shook and then slid open. "Yes?"

"He works. We can ask him anything now."

Lavagirl immediately stepped forth and pulled Max a step back. "Let me, let me. - Tell me something about me. I'm clueless."

"Actually," Tobor began, "you're extremely bright."

Lavagirl's lips lit up to a grin. Just then, Sharkboy stepped forth, taking her position. "Am I King of the Ocean or what?"

"No, sorry."

His head fell in disappointment and backed away, just as Sarox came forward.

"How come I'm on Planet Drool when this is really Max's dream?"

"Your heart will help Max in his quest to save the planet."

Max grabbed his arm and switch places with him. He had the most essential of all questions. "How do I save Planet Drool?"

"The answer is in your dreams."

Sharkboy began to form a fist again, his glance directed at Max. "You mean if I put him to sleep he'll dream us outta this mess?"

"No. At least not here. Darkness is falling. Any dream of his will become a nightmare and you don't want those becoming a reality. But if you go to the Land of Milk and Cookies-"

"Of course," Lavagirl mumbled as she puzzled together the suggestion.

"That's where the good dreams are. Where the answers are."

"This is great, Max. The Land of Milk and Cookies is a safe, sweet place, you'll be able to dream easily there," she told him with a confident voice.

He turned back to Tobor. "Can you take us there?"

"I have no body," he answered. "I can't move."

"You can move your eyes and your mouth," Sharkboy pointed.

The robot shut its eyes and mouth, and seemed to be concentrating on something. "Ah, I can't remove the screws that contain them."

"I'll help you out," Sarox suggested and summoned his Keyblade. He pointed it at Tobor's face and shot a sharp beam of light that engraved its eyes and mouth. In a matter of seconds, the screws removed themselves and Tobor's eyes and mouth flew off his head.

"Thank you," he said.

Just as they were about to take off, a distant sound came forth. They looked around the area, and then caught sight of a train flying into the graveyard. It turned lower down and flew towards the group, the rest of the train followed as well. Sharkboy, Lavagirl and Sarox stood in place, ready to take Max to safety at the first sign of aggression. Then it slowed and stopped on the ground.

Sarox looked into the train, and found the first familiar face since he entered Planet Drool.

"It's Max, he's my friend," he told the others in a happy voice.

Max G. disembarked the train. "Anybody need a ride?"


	9. Chapter 9: The Land of Milk and Cookies

**Please review this chapter.**

Tobor's eyes and mouth followed the flying Train of Thought closely as they flew over the Mountain of Brains. Max G navigated the train under Sharkboy's and Lavagirl's protection while Sarox stood guard on the roof.

"Why didn't you work back on Earth, Tobor," Max asked as they conversed.

"Some dreams are so powerful they become real, like Sharkboy and Lavagirl," he explained, "I, on the other hand, am still only a dream."

Max looked out the window at the mesmerizing view. Colorful skies completed with colorful clouds and dwarf planets visible to the horizon. The landscape was completely beautiful and perfect. The breeze blew gently through the windows into the train despite in they were flying in the air.

_This is my perfect world,_ he thought to himself. _I wish I live here forever and never go back to the real world. It doesn't fit me._

Sarox sat on the solid-hard metallic floor as he admired the beautiful landscape. It was so beautiful that anyone who saw it would love it. His face and hair was greeted by the gentle wind.

_This is one mesmerizing world,_ he thought. _Max is certainly a really good dreamer._

He tried to make out more of the view, until he spotted three objects flying in their direction. For a moment, they were too small for him to make out anything. But as they came closer, he realized what they were. The heart-shaped emblems on their chests betrayed that they were Heartless. And they were flying towards them.

"Sharkboy, get up here right now!" he called. "We're being attacked!"

It took a total fifteen seconds before Sharkboy climbed up to the roof; by now the Heartless had reached Sarox. Sharkboy ran toward the conflicting group and knocked down one Heartless. One of the other Heartless charged at Sarox; he countered with a wind-shielding spell and the force appeared in time to bounce it away. He then quickly took the chance to wipe it out with a fireball. Sharkboy caught the last Heartless and thrusted it in Sarox's direction, who conjured another fireball and vaporized it. The two boys then gave each other a high-five.

"Nice job," Sharkboy complimented.

"You, too," he replied.

Their sense of victory disappeared as quickly as it came when more Heartless suddenly appeared in a circle with them in the center.

"Lavagirl, we could use some help up here!" Sarox called.

"We're kinda busy down here," she called back from down under. While Sarox and Sharkboy were fighting, the train was infiltrated by another group of Heartless. Tobor's eyes and mouth disappeared into the horizon while Max hid behind Lavagirl's defenses. Since Max G had to pilot the train, Lavagirl had to protect them by herself. She fired lava at two Heartless, vaporizing them. The remaining lava touched wall behind and melted the metal, creating a huge hole.

"Oops," she mumbled to herself. _I'll have to be careful with that._

A Heartless shot a strong beam at Max and Max G, who saw the attack and acted reflexively, blocking the assault with his shield and then threw it at the monster to knock it away. The last standing Heartless fired another beam in the boys' direction. They saw the coming attack and jumped away before it could touch them, subsequently it flew into the controllers resulting in a strong explosion that sent everyone away. The whole vehicle shook violently; Sharkboy grabbed the roofline before he could fall off the train. Max G, Max and Lavagirl eyed at where the controllers were, and then horror struck them; now they will not be able to monitor the train. Sarox and Sharkboy returned to find the mess... and a white mountain far up ahead. There was no way to control a train without controllers, and they _will_ crash in a minute.

"Oh my," Sarox said in frozen lips.

Lavagirl got to her feet and looked out the window. Then, she drew the door stick, the only control that was left of the train. The door opened as it should.

"Jump, it will be alright," she ordered, and then jumped off the train without hesitation. While Max, Sarox and Max G shared hesitant glances, Sharkboy followed his partner without second thoughts.

Max G gave the others another quick glance before making his decision. "Come on," he shouted and then followed. Sarox and Max looked at the mountain up ahead again. Oh no. They had no more time to think. It was either to jump off to a deadly fate or crash and meet death indefinitely. That left them no choice but to do one thing. They shot one last glance to each other and jumped off the train in the same second. As they fell, no wind blew across their bodies like it should when a person was falling from the sky. Even weirder, their fall did not increase like the way gravity pulled a falling object. Then Sarox remembered that they weren't in the real world, they were in the world of Max' dream. Perhaps logic in dreams was altered by wild imagination. Then, maybe...

His thought interrupted when they landed on a mountain of white cream and crashed into the silk-soft ground. It wasn't until thirty or so seconds after the cream slipped into their mouths that they realized it tasted vanilla. A mountain of vanilla cream. That didn't make sense to Sarox.

Sarox and Max struggled as they climbed up the sticky, glossy and moldy sweet cream. The hard part was finding something solid enough to support their weight. If only there was something they could use...

A thought occured to Sarox in that moment. "This might work." He summoned the Keyblade, pointed it in a different direction of the hole and shot ice on the cream. It froze, became solid. It would probably be very slippery, but nothing a tiny fireball can't right. "Let's climb the ice, Max," he said.

As soon as Sarox climbed up to the edge, he offered his hand to Max and carefully pulled him up. Out of breath and strength, they both lay beside the edge for a minute with their backs on the creamy ice. Then a loud scream reached their ears and they lifted their heads and saw their friends running in their direction, all of whom were covered in cream in different colors.

"You okay?" Max G asked as soon as he reached Sarox.

He nodded. Then a question popped into his head. "Where are we?"

Lavagirl grinned and pointed forward. Sarox had to twist around to see what was up ahead. He expected more creamy mountains, but not _this_. High mountains made of sweets and cakes, some of them piled up by ice cream and cherries on top; grounds created by cookies and candy; and a long stream of river of milk. Above the cookie grounds lay more sweet cakes that were big enough to crash down a wooden house. There were at least ten or more gingerbreads up ahead that looked large enough to make a steady gingerbread house. He looked higher up, and then spotted a humongous gingerbread half buried on the hill.

He had his answer before Lavagirl confirmed it for him. "We're here - the Land of Milk and Cookies." Excitement reigned in her voice.

Fifteen minutes passed since they arrived in the Land of Milk and Cookies. Everyone except Sharkboy enjoyed some cookies, sweets and milk until they were too full to consume more. Max G knew that PJ would love this land more than any other - sweets were more irresistible to his friend than anything else.

"All right, Max," Sharkboy said. "You've had your cookies and milk. Now, go to sleep." He pointed to an open clearing on the cookie ground, plain enough for anyone to rest.

"I'll try," Max said. He lay down on the clearing and sent a finger across his cheek to scrape some cream that remained on his face and poked it into his mouth.

"Go to sleep!" Sharkboy's voice promised violence.

Max shut his eyes and forced himself to sleep.

"Hey, take it easy," Sarox said. "He won't be able to sleep with you stressing him like that."

Lavagirl rested quietly beside Max while Max G watched for potential disturbance - particularly Heartless and Mr. Electric. Suddenly, a thought came to her so fast that she didn't have time to think before she acted.

"Hey, Max." He opened his eyes to look at her. "I know you got a lot to think about. But if you happen to dream about who I am and how I fit into this world, it would be very helpful for me to know."

Sharkboy punched her shoulder so fast that her heat didn't have time to touch his skin. "Are you trying to distract him?"

"I'm sorry. I'm desperate."

Sarox raised his hands as if to stop a potential argument. "Okay, I think one of us should stay with Max instead. Lavagirl, you stay." He pointed. "We'll stand guard from all directions." He stood up and pulled at Sharkboy's shoulder. "C'mon, Sharkboy."

He grumbled a little, but complied to the idea. Max closed his eyes again to sleep peacefully. He started counting in his head. _One. Two. Three._ Lavagirl didn't talk again, and by the time he counted to eight, his mind began to fall under. _Nine. Ten..._

* * *

Colorful flashes of images flew by so fast there was barely time to see anything. Before Max could get a clearer view of picture, he was pulled into the next, and then the next. All that he could catch was a glimpse of each picture.

First, pleasant ones; Sharkboy driving a Shark Bike and Lavagirl standing at the mouth of a volcano, Sarox hugging Marlene as if they were reunited, Planet Drool once again a bright and happy asteroid. Then scary ones appeared; Lavagirl lying lifelessly in Sharkboy's arms, Sarox pointing his Keyblade at Max (who was also in the picture), Max and Sarox falling down an icy tunnel. And a white crystal necklace. All the while, a sentence appeared in his ears: _You got the power. You just have to know how to use it._

Throughout the switching glimpses, he hadn't had time to decipher anything else. Then it stopped. He found himself standing on one spot. The place did not shift. He finally had the time to decipher his surroundings. A dreadful grand clearing in the middle of nowhere, no breeze blew by the location. Even the light in the sky was shady and grayish. The feeling of this atmosphere made him highly uncomfortable. But what disturbed him most was the figure that stood in front of him. It had the appearance of a boy, but he had his back on him. His black cloak and the vague light blocked his view. There was no way to get a closer look.

"Hello, Max," a familiar voice came from the boy. He began to turn around. Max walked closer to get a better look.

_Wake up, Max! Wake up! Wake up!_


	10. Chapter 10: The Ice Bridge

**Please review this chapter.**

"Max, wake up!" Lavagirl's screams rang so hard in Max's ears that it brought him out of his dream. "Do you hear me? We have to get outta here!"

Noises rang in his ears as he regained consciousness. It wasn't anything he'd heard before. Loud, multiple, and ringing. He rubbed his eyes before turning to see the directions of the noises. And then he saw it. Heartless _and_ creatures made of wires and with plugs for heads and feet. Their bodyparts were wires connected by metal threads. Their behavior was similar to dogs. He didn't know what they were, but from the way Max G and Sarox stood in defensive positions, he could tell they weren't coming at them for treats. Lavagirl was closest to him. Her hands fisted as she stood ready to fire at the monsters.

He jumped to his feet in time to watch Sarox and Max G knock down some of the monsters.

"Get him outta here, Sharkboy," Sarox yelled over his shoulder.

Sharkboy came to his side then. Max only used a half second to realize what he was riding on - a floating bike shaped like the one he saw in his dreams. Sharkboy pulled his arm and yanked him up.

"Where'd you get it?" he asked, shocked that it looked exactly like the one in his dreams.

"You dreamt it up," Sharkboy explained, his voice was rough, but the excitement in his tone was undeniable. "Let's get away from those Plughounds."

They drove off toward the mountain trail. Max looked back over his shoulder, and felt guilty for leaving behind his friends, who were all fighting for their lives. He didn't have time to look longer, though. In the next second, they were flying across the air and hit the ground, landing next to each other.

"Ouch," Max winced at the pain from the fall.

It wasn't as painful as the solid-hard ground back in the real world, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt. He forced himself to look up, and saw a swarm of Plughounds standing up ahead. The Shark bike was flaming strongly in front of them. That's when he realized their escape route had been blocked off by the robots.

Sharkboy jumped to his feet and pulled Max back up.

"Let's run back to the others, Max. Go," he ordered.

They ran back to the others, with the Plughounds chasing closely behind. By the time they reached Max G, Lavagirl and Sarox, they realized Sarox had taken his blue Wisdom Form. The form that turned his outfit blue and enhanced his magic skills. The intensified impact of fireballs shot from his Keyblade was evident to that.

Lavagirl was the first to see them.

"What're you doing back here?"

"They blocked our path. There's too many for me to fight alone," Sharkboy explained in one breath.

They were surrounded, with no route to escape. Now, there was nothing to do but fight their way through. Sarox struck down one side of monsters with water magic while Max G and Max covered the other. Sharkboy covered the back with Lavagirl.

Lavagirl thrusted her arms at the Plughounds, but the mass of lava didn't come as much as usual. With the focus put into them, her hands were supposed to fire enough lava to melt a wall. She looked at her hands, and then realization struck. "My powers are weakening," she murmured in distress. Before she could refocus, something came from behind and wrapped all around her body. She could feel the force from the binding when it lifted her off the ground. Her eyes glanced at the cord, then flickered to the others. Everyone was too busy fighting on their own to pay much attention to her. Max was fending off a Plughound, with Sharkboy watching his back. Her focus scattered when she felt a shock of malevolent electricity striking at her body.

"Somebody get me down from here," she screamed while struggling.

She didn't know what happened, but in an instant, a flaming heat flared across the top of her head and the plug head that connected the cord around her torso was melted into a mass of dissolving plastic. Its grip loosened as the cord fell, taking her down with it. She didn't waste time to break free.

She wasn't the first to notice the sudden fireballs that flew from another direction. Everyone looked for the source of the flaming spheres. And there _he_ was. Standing at the top of a mounted pile of creamy cake, with sweet cream all over his stomach and chest.

"_PJ!_" Max G called out in delight. Sarox's eyes widened.

"I'm coming!" he called, then jumped down the creamy mountain and landed on top of a human-sized cookie.

Max G examined the cream on his body. "You've been eating the whole time here?"

He nodded with a smile on his face. Max G shook his head violently, and Sarox sighed in disbelief. But there wasn't time for any more of that. They were in the middle of a crisis. There will be time to talk later.

"Max!" Sarox called whilst distracting a group of Heartless with thunder magic. "You dreamt up a Shark Bike. You can do it again."

"He can dream us out of here," Sharkboy comprehended and glared at him. "Do it!"

Knowing there wasn't time to hesitate, he shut his eyes and started visualizing. He pictured a boat with turbo boosters. The size of the boat was large enough to support them all. When the image of structure became unclear, he focused even harder on the visualization. Somehow, he didn't just see it, he could _feel_ it. The solid feeling of metal, the force of the boosters. And then he thrust his arms. His tummy grumbled.

When he opened his eyes, what stood in front of him was a huge banana split.

"A banana split?" Sharkboy said in confusion and frustration. "Still hungry, Max?" He fisted his hand. "How 'bout a knuckle sandwich?"

"I'm almost out of magic!" Sarox called.

"Hey, look," Lavagirl said cheerfully. Her eyes focused on the banana split. "It's a banana split boat!"

Sharkboy and Max examined the structure for a quick second, and then they saw it. The treat had two bananas supporting a flat chocolate chunk, with round cream and sugar on top of it. On one edge, a cherry was attached on top one huge ice cream.

"Then let's split!" Max G shouted and urged everyone toward the boat.

Sarox backed away towards them, focusing on the approaching monsters. He needed to fend them off until the others pushed the boat into the river. Max G's shield flew past his shoulder and knocked away one side of the enemy front line.

"Sarox, come on!" PJ yelled.

He looked over his shoulder. They had already pushed the boat to the edge. He immediately undid the transformation and rushed to their side just as everyone jumped on board. Sharkboy gave one final effort and then hopped on. The boat floated into the milk river. The Plughounds and Heartless stopped at the edge, barking and screaming helplessly as the group travels floated away.

When they realized that the milk had slowly changed to clear water, they knew they were no longer in the Land of Milk and Cookies. PJ looked up and saw the stream up ahead, flowing gently in between two sides of mountain-sized ice. A huge carving read "Stream of Consciousness" on one side of the ice block.

While everyone else either relaxed or looked out for any potential threats, Sarox was on a train of thought of his own. He had been thinking about Marlene since they escaped the monsters. Worrying about her, actually.

When they entered Planet Drool, all of them were separated. Now, they had found PJ and Max G; but there was still no sign of Marlene. As soon as he had time to truly realize that PJ had come back, he began to think about Marlene.

_Where could she be?_ he thought.

"This is great, Max," Lavagirl said suddenly, abruptly stopping Sarox's train of thought. "You're starting to _daydream_. Keep that up, and they'll never get us."

Max's eyebrows wrinkled. "Why not?" he asked.

She leaned closer. The excitement on her face was obvious. "Learn to dream with your eyes open, then you wouldn't have to be asleep to dream. You'll be able to make anything happen, at any time."

He considered the possibilities of that. The others weren't oblivious to their conversation, either.

"You'll be strong enough to face anything, Max," Sarox added.

Max grinned.

"Speaking of which, what was it you saw in your dream? I think it could be helpful," Max G asked, and changed everone's attention.

Max tried to recall the images. But whatever he saw, he found it harder to remember by every passing second. _Come on, try to remember something. Anything,_ he told himself. The images he tried to recall were too blurry. The first thing he remembered was the figure shaped like a young boy in the last picture. And then... a clear white crystal. "I don't remember much, but I saw someone," he explained as he tried harder to remember the dream. "I saw someone about my age, but I couldn't see his face. He was wearing this black cloak. And then I remember seeing an object, shaped like..." He found it hard to describe with his mouth. Perhaps it would be better to just draw it. "Give me something to draw with," he asked.

PJ offered out his magic staff. He grabbed his wrist and pointed the staff at a clear white spot of the ice-cream. When beams of light emerged from the staff's tip, he started moving it remotely to draw the object in his dream.

"The Crystal Heart!" Sharkboy confirmed as soon as he saw the heart-shaped drawing. "That's the treasure in the Land of Ice, in the Ice Castle." There was sudden excitement in his voice. His face also brightened. "It has the power to freeze anything on a whole planet. Even time."

_Really?_ Max asked internally. He had always wanted to freeze a moment in time; if he could do that, he wouldn't have to go to school and endure bullies. "I've always dreamt of freezing a moment in time," he said out loud.

"We can probably use it to our advantage," Sarox said. "Our time-stopping power is not strong enough to freeze an entire planet. The Crystal Heart can do that and allow us to stop Mr. Electric and whoever is causing all this trouble."

"The Ice Castle is on the other side of the Stream of Consciousness. It's ruled by the Ice Princess," Sharkboy explained, more interested in the Princess now. "I hear she's the most beautiful girl on the planet."

Lavagirl's jaw fell at his words, and then she stood on her feet and said, "She's not! She's cold, and cruel, and cares for nobody but herself." Her tone was fierce and accusing.

Sharkboy gave her an angry glare.

"Do you know her?" Max asked.

She focused on him. "No. But I know we don't get along."

"How do you know that?" PJ asked.

"I'm fire. She's ice. We must be enemies." There was no relent in her voice.

There wasn't enough time to come up with another plan, they had to use whatever they could find, Max knew that. "We don't have time to come up with something else. If that Crystal Heart can help us, then we definitely need it," he told Lavagirl. "Lava, we need your help if we're gonna get it."

With that, Lavagirl relented.

"Fine. I just hope this isn't a trap," she said.

* * *

They reached the edge of the Ice Kingdom after several minutes of rowing down the dream, and followed the pathway to a long bridge made of solid ice. They spotted the castle on the other side.

"Behold the Ice Castle, Kingdom of the Ice Princess," Sharkboy said.

"The Crystal Heart's inside the castle?" Max asked.

"So they say."

"Well, come on. Let's go," Max G urged and walked toward the bridge.

They walked down the bridge one after another, until there was only Lavagirl left. She looked down at her feet as the ice melted beneath her. Fear began to rise within her.

"It's no use," she called out; the boys were already halfway across the bridge. "I'll melt the bridge. This place enflames me."

"Can you down enough to get across?" Sarox asked.

She shook her head. "I can only do that if I'm asleep."

They were interrupted by the sound of approaching rumbling. Too intense, too strong. Too many. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound, no one spoke a word. The source of the sound finally emerged - a mass of Plughounds and Heartless coming across the mountain.

"RUN!" Sharkboy screamed.

"Lavagirl, come on!" Max called.

She looked at him. There was no fear or blood lust in her face, just compassion and calm.

"You have to cross the bridge and get the Crystal Heart," she said loudly.

Before he could ask what she meant, she fired a handful of lava on the ice bridge and melted it. Then, she ran towards the army.

"Lavagirl!" he screamed in horror.

The rest of the bridge crumbled from the overheat. Sarox quickly ran to Max' side, and pulled him running towards the opposite direction. Max G, Sharkboy and PJ ran in the same direction, too. As the bridge continued to fall, they increased their speed.

They stopped abruptly as soon as they reached the palace yard. Max looked back at the other side, and watched in horror at the beasts overwhelming Lavagirl.

"LAVAGIRL!" Sharkboy screamed in horror, desperately wishing to be with her on the other side.

Sarox placed a comforting hand on Max's shoulder, unsure of what to say. Max G and PJ also looked on in sorrow.

"Let's go. She wants us to get the Crystal Heart. We have to do it for her sake," Sarox said after a moment. He felt selfish and insensitive for saying it, but he knew he was right.

Max touched his hand.

"Come on," he said. "Let's go get it." He hesitantly touched a sad Sharkboy's shoulder. "We'll save her, Shark."

Sharkboy took a deep breath, and then turned around. "Well, let's go. We have a time to stop."

They started walking. But then, the ground crumbled in front of them and opened a sinkhole. Emerging from the hole was Mr Electric with anti-gravity rockets attached to his back and feet. He flashed his sinister grin at them.

"You can almost feel the electricity in the air, can't you?" he said evilly.

They readied for battle. Mr Electric shot a powerful beam on the ground so fast there was no time for the boys to react and the impact sent them flying in different directions.

Sharkboy jumped on his feet and ran to Mr Electric's side. Heartless began to appear behind the android.

"Sarox, Max, you two go get the Crystal Heart," Max G said as he stood back up.

Sarox eyed at him in shock. "You want us to leave?"

He looked at PJ. "PJ, get them outta here!"

"No, we're not leaving you," Max interjected.

"Listen, Sarox," Max G caught his attention. "Max is the key to fixing the planet. You're the only who can protect him. You have to go."

"We're not leaving," Sarox refused.

Max came to his side.

"PJ!"

PJ pointed his magic staff upward and called, "Thunder!"

A bolt of lightning dropped on the ground underneath Sarox and Max. The explosion shattered the ice, and they fell down into a deep gorge.


	11. Chapter 11: The Ice Princess

**Please review this chapter.**

They slid down into a tunnel of slippery ice like a slide. There was nothing solid enough for them to grab hold of. Finally, they reached the end of the tunnel and slid through an open hole into a huge cavern. The cave was structured in a very different way; there was an elegantly built pillar in each corner. There were also piles of ice blocks laid all around the cave, and an ice pillar pointing straight up in the air.

Sarox and Max looked back at the hole they fell in from, both worrying about their friends.

Sarox looked up at the pillar until he saw an object on top of it. It was supported by its tip as it dangled without falling.

"Is that the Crystal Heart?" he asked.

Max nodded. "Yeah."

He approached the pillar, hoping it would be easy. Then he hit an invisible wall.

"Ouch," he winced as he pressed his forehead.

"It's protected by a magical barrier," Sarox realized.

Max looked over his shoulder. "What do we do?"

He thought for a moment. The best idea to try to break a magical seal was to use the Keyblade. He immediately summoned it and aimed at the Crystal Heart; the weapon's tip fired beams of light and collided with the barrier. It disappeared after a few seconds. The pillar then melted like streaming water. What remained was the Crystal Heart, now hovering in midair and lowering down slowly. Max opened his hands to catch it.

But it shattered as soon as it touched his palms. He looked around the floor in shock.

"What happened?" he asked.

Before he could get an answer, they were interrupted. The piled ice blocks in the corners suddenly moved, and shifted as if they were coming to life. In fact, they _were_ coming to life. All the blocks on every pile moved and attached themselves to each other, and turned into a guard of four. All of them created from ice blocks, and have a spear in their hands.

The guards surrounded Sarox and Max, but did not attack. The two boys stood ready just in case. Just then, in another side of the ice cave, at the top of a short icy staircase, a two-door gate opened and two more guards emerged. One of the guards nudged Sarox's shoulder with his spear and ordered, "Move."

Another one did the same to Max. The two boys didn't want unnecessary battles, so they complied. Sarox thought it would be logical to tell the Ice Princess why they were trying to steal the Crystal Heart. If she would not accept to their explanation, they could still fight their way out.

"Kneel before the Ice Princess," one of the guards said as soon as they reached the stairs.

They immediately complied. The guards at the gate moved to the side to reveal the appearance of a young girl dressed in a dress as white as snow with crown made of ice. The structure reminded Sarox of certain mystical objects he found on his adventures. They immediately recognized the princess's face: the exact duplicate of Max's classmate, Marissa.

"You tried to steal the Crystal Heart," the Princess said. Even her voice was the same as Marissa's. "Why?"

Max was the one who answered. "We believe it can stop time long enough to stop the Darkness from destroying the planet."

"My Crystal Heart cannot help you, only I have the power to use it."

"Then come with us," Sarox said.

"She can never leave the castle," a voice intervened as its source emerged from the gate. Another being made of ice, only this one wore a crown. Definitely the king. "The Crystal is the only thing that protects our kingdom."

"Please, Your Highness. We're running out of time," Sarox pleaded. "Our friends have been captured by Mr. Electric. We need the Crystal Heart's power to save them and all of us."

"Sarox?" another voice said.

He recognized it. From behind the King and the Princess came Marlene running out from the gate. He brightened at the sight of her, safe and sound, and forgot what he was saying a second ago. As the girl blissfully ran down the stairs, he ran forward until they bumped into each other's embraces. The guards did not stop them.

"Marlene," he whispered and held her tighter. It felt like forever since he last saw her.

Max walked to their side, grinning.

"I knew you'd come," she said with total confidence.

When he pulled away, he asked, "What're you doing here?"

"I woke up here. The Ice Princess has kept me company the whole time. She's very lovely."

They turned back to the Princess. There wasn't time to lose.

"Princess, you're part of this Planet, too," Max said. "Right now, the whole planet is in danger because of the Darkness. We might have a chance to stop it, but what we don't have is enough time. We need your help. Not just for us and the planet, but for your kingdom as well."

The Ice Princess considered that and touched her necklace. "You need to make your way to the Dream Lair to be able to stop the source. It's right across the ocean. I can use the Crystal Heart to keep the Darkness at bay, but it won't hold too long. Only the planet's strongest core will have the power to stop it. And only you, Max, will know how to make it happen."

He gave a puzzled look. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Your dreams are what created this planet. Only your dreams will have the power to save it, but you also need to find the strength to use it wisely. I have faith in you, Max. Now, go. I will help you from here. Good luck. My guards will lead you to the exit."


	12. Chapter 12: Minus

**Please review this chapter.**

After they were brought to the top of the Dream Lair (which had nothing but a house-sized bed surrounded by a mass of flourescent aura), Sharkboy, Lavagirl, Max G and PJ, all trapped in an iron cage, faced a holographic face that hovered over a mechanic armchair at the end of the lair.

"Welcome to the Dream Lair," it greeted. _"I am the ruler of Planet Drool."_

"No, you're not!" Lavagirl corrected. "_Max_ is."

_"Max may have dreamed it originally."_ The holographic face disappeared. Then the armchair turned around to reveal... Linus. "I have made it much cooler," he said with his own voice. "I am _Minus_."

Max G and PJ dropped their jaws, their eyes widened.

"How did you get here?" Max G asked.

He held out a book. Max G and PJ recognized it. Max's Dream Journal.

"I had a lot of reading. And thanks to this book, I didn't only have access into Max's dreamworld, but also got more power than he will ever have." He stood up and closed in on Max G. "Nice trick you did on the Train, Max. Funny how you could share the same name with that loser. And now, you two'll share the same fate," he said bluntly to Max G, and then moved on to Sharkboy. "Sharkboy, you've been searching for your father, right? After you two were separated when your father's laboratory got blown apart by a tornado?"

Sharkboy eyed at him with a glance of curiosity. "Where is my father?" he asked, trying not to sound desperate.

"Hm, let's see." Minus flipped through the book, then looked straight at Sharkboy. "Check the bottom of the ocean." He showed an evil grin while saying this, enjoying the anger on Sharkboy's face.

He moved on to Lavagirl. "And Lavagirl, when I freeze the planet's core, all of your powers will disappear."

"Powers?" she repeated in confusion. "What powers?"

He didn't answer; instead he looked directly at them. "You know. I never expected to see anyone else than Max in this loser world. But now that you're both here, I guess that means the other two must be here too. Good, they can watch me destroy Max's dreams. The Heartless are roaming the planet as we speak. Once everything is in my hands, that Ice Castle will lose its defenses, and then I'll have Max stand in front of me and watch me take over his world. Blah, blah, blah... threat, threat, threat... Now you must excuse me, I have some dreaming to do."

He snapped his fingers.

Before they knew it, they were falling down a deep and dark tunnel. They all screamed to the top of their lungs.

* * *

Everyone had settled down on the corners of the cage, which hung by a tree branch on a cliff of the Dream Lair's mountainside. All of them felt defeated for the first time since they entered Planet Drool.

"The journal's our only way to make everything right," Max G said, trying to retain his confidence. "Come on, guys. We have to get out of this cage."

"We tried," Lavagirl complained. "I couldn't melt the bars." She looked at the distant volcano, now even less visible with its low flames. "Once the volcano's completely dimmed, so will my fire."

Sharkboy grabbed a bar and squeezed, trying to crush it with his fingers. But not even a dent showed. In the end, he gave up with a huff.

Defeat began to touch Max G.

PJ looked on in silence.

_This world's made of dreams, and Minus knows everything..._ A thought occured to him instantly. He intentionally blurted it out before it slipped away from his mind. "If Minus knows everything about this world..." Everyone looked at him. "That means he doesn't know _us_." He gazed at Max G. "Max, Minus has control over everything that's made in this world, right?"

He nodded hesitantly.

"Well, since we're not of this world, maybe he won't have control over us and our abilities," he continued. "If we can work together, maybe we'll be able to break out." He turned to Sharkboy and Lavagirl. "Sharkboy, Lavagirl, you two may not be able to destroy the bars on your own, but with all of us, we might be able to do it."

They didn't look convinced.

"PJ's right," Max G said. "This world needs us. And Max needs you two to get him the Dream Journal so that he can make things right again. I'm sure they're on their way to the Dream Lair right now, but if Minus knows him well enough, he'll be walking right into a trap. This is _exactly_ the time to fight, guys. You can't give up. Not now."

His words seemed to show more effect on them than PJ's, because they immediately showed some amount of confidence. They stood up, and Max G and PJ joined them.

"Tell us what to do," Sharkboy said in determination.

PJ and Max gave them a short description of their idea.

"Ready?" Max G asked Sharkboy.

He responded with a nod. He leaped up and bent his legs to stand in between the iron bars, using his hands to bend them at full strength. He exerted so much power that his forehead began to sweat. It made a dent.

Max G stood in a corner facing Sharkboy, and concentrated on the supernatural strength his dad taught him to use. Feeling the power flow through his arm, he thrusted his shield with all of his power. It hit the bars in Sharkboy's hands and, with a loud banging sound, made a bigger dent. The shield bounced backwards and flew back into Max G's hand. He had learned to view the most useful ankles before learning how to use a shield like a boomerang.

"Lavagirl, your turn," PJ said.

Lavagirl pointed her hands at the bars next to Sharkboy, then fired a large amount of lava. Sharkboy made a quick leap to the side before the impacting lava could burn him.

Knowing the finishing touch was on him, PJ recalled every word he remembered from the spell: It was a very dangerous spell, and if said incorrectly, the results could be catastrophic. He had the bruises to prove it.

He pointed his Mage Staff at the melting bars and shouted, "Fire and Thunder, combine with destructive energy. Ice and Wind, send all natural courses. BLAST!" The most powerful of light flew out from his staff, followed by a powerful explosion and rumbling in the cage. Everyone staggered and fell to the cage's floor. After the shaking ceased, the first thing everyone comprehended was the black smoke resulted from the explosion. Then, as the smoke dissipated, they saw the opening. A large opening and melted metal bars.

"We have to get the journal," Max G said as they climbed up toward the Dream Lair.

The four of them climbed carefully as they reached the edge of the Dream Lair. Minus was lying on the couch, dreaming. With the journal hung over his face. No one could be sure whether he was sleeping.

"I'll get it," Max G said boldly, but kept his voice low.

He kept his footsteps quiet and slow, constantly making sure that he wasn't making any unwanted sounds that might stir Minus. As he drew nearer, everyone, including himself, grew tenser.

Once he was standing over Minus, he slowly placed his hands on the book's edges and carefully lifted it off his face.

He tensed. Minus's eyes stared right at him. "What'll he do?" The question ran in his head faster than any thought ever had. Minus had spotted him.

Except he didn't say anything. All he did was look. And then, Max G realized he wasn't looking at him. His face was completely blank.

He sighed with relief, then slowly walked back to the others.

As soon as he was with them again, they left the Dream Lair with all the speed they could exert.


	13. Chapter 13: True Dreams

**Please review this chapter.**

Sarox skied across the frozen surface of the Sea of Confusion in Wisdom form with Max clinging on his back while Marlene traveled in the air with a pair of wings summoned from Marahute's Summon Crystal: a kind of supernatural artefacts that allowed Marlene and fellow Princess, Garnet, to use the power of summon spirits in times of need. The giant golden eagle Marahute also happened to have the power to grant its master the power to create gusts of wind and a pair of large wings to fly with.

As they made their way toward the Dream Lair, Max hoped the Ice Princess would carry out her promise to aid them with the Crystal Heart. Whatever was causing the planet's core to wither away came from the Dream Lair, and they needed the Crystal Heart to keep it from expanding long enough for them to reverse the effects.

"Sarox, Max!" Marlene called from above. "There's someone coming. Up ahead."

Sarox focused, but couldn't see anything. He supposed since he was on the ground, it made seeing things far ahead rather more difficult. Then, after running another couple hundred yards, he finally saw them.

Max G, PJ, Lavagirl and Sharkboy. All of them were running in their direction. Sarox felt amazingly relieved to see his friends unharmed.

"It's them," he said delightfully.

When they were within earshot, Max G shouted their names and waved with what looked like a journal in his hand.

"We got your journal, Max," Sharkboy said excitedly.

"How'd you get it? Where did you find it?" Max asked. The questions echoed in his head.

"At the Dream Lair, where your buddy Linus, also known as Minus in this world, used your journal to twist your dreams," Max G explained, "that's why everything's so messed up."

Sharkboy handed him the journal. Squeals escaped his throat as he re-read its pages, and saw everything that he contained of his most precious dreams.

_Now I can set everything right,_ he thought.

"This is good," Sarox said. "We got the Ice Princess to help us. And now that we have the book, we can stop him and the Darkness."

"I don't think so!"

Before anyone could react to the sound of the voice, a beam shot across the group right at the journal and knocked it out of Max's hands. Max dusted his hands to shake off the heat, but then stopped when he saw his book in flames.

"My dreams," his voice barely a whisper.

Everyone looked to the source of the voice now and found Minus and Mr. Electric standing a few hundred yards away. The steam billowing from Mr. Electric's palm said he was the one who fired at the book.

"Minus," Sharkboy gritted through his teeth.

"Why are you doing this?" Marlene asked.

He answered with an evil grin, then turned to Mr. Electric and gave order to finish them off before walking off.

Sharkboy growled. Lavagirl's hair flamed. Everyone could feel the anger rise up in their chests, even Max. Sharkboy charged first. Mr. Electric let out an evil laugh and fired deadly beams. The beams didn't hit him. Rather, it hit the icy surface beneath him, and - with a loud cracking sound - the ice dispersed and Sharkboy fell under. Mr. Electric laughed again as he sent another electric bolt into the water. Sharkboy writhed and yelped in anguish. Lavagirl shot forward, about to blow apart Mr. Electric's robotic arm when a group of Heartless suddenly surrounded her and splashed her with water.

"No!" Max screamed in horror as he watched the figure of his dream fall to the ground and eventually losing consciousness. The glow emitting from her body dimmed and then went black.

The Heartless started charging at the remainder. Sarox, Max G, PJ, and Marlene raised their weapons to block the march. Only they didn't move. The monsters froze in the air, looking like they were charging at them.

Max looked over to the other side of the icy gap and saw Minus and Mr. Electric looking on with evil grins, but other than so they didn't so much as move an inch.

"What happened?" PJ asked.

"It must be the Ice Princess," Marlene said. "She said she was going to help us freeze time from the castle."

Knowing they had to use the advantage to the fullest, Sarox ordered, "Come on, we have to save them."

Max pulled in a deep breath to snap himself out of his paralyzing horror and went through the Heartless line to Lavagirl's side. Max G and Sarox ran to the open gap. Sarox used the last of his advanced magic provided by Wisdom Form to negate Mr. Electric's frozen electricity; Max G dove right into the water. On the very bottom of the ocean, he spotted Sharkboy lying unconsciously on the ocean floor. Hoping for the best, Max dove deeper down until he eventually reached Sharkboy's hand and pulled him back up. He could feel his lungs burning and the air beginning to choke on him, but he pushed on until he reached the surface with Sharkboy in his arms.

Sarox, now back in his normal attire, pulled Sharkboy out while Max G climbed out of the water.

"Sharkboy, come on, wake up," Sarox said loudly and gave the boy a real shake. "Hey, come on, wake up."

He looked over his shoulder and saw Max, PJ and Marlene standing beside Lavagirl, who was also unconscious. Max' eyes were wet and blurry. He looked so hurt by the destruction of his dream that even Sarox hurt for him.

_It's not over yet,_ a little voice inside said.

He went over to Max' side.

"Max, it's gonna be okay," he said with little conviction.

Tears finally started running.

"They're my most precious dream," he said through his crying voice. "I've lost them." He looked at his journal, now a pile of ashes. "I've lost everything."

Enough, Sarox thought. "No, you haven't, Max. But you will if you give up. If you lose one dream, then you dream better one. You can't go on about dreaming if you just dream for yourself. Lavagirl said you have the power to make things better, and now is the time for you to use that power. Now is the time for you to embrace that power, because to save your dreams and the real world you have to tap into it. Face it and not try to look away."

His words seemed to sink into Max. He began to soften, his tears stopped running. "All this time I've been dreaming for myself. I wanted to run away from my homeworld when it needed my help to make it a better place. Selfish dreams shouldn't come true." Pulling in a deep breath, he said with conviction, "I should dream a better dream. A selfless dream."

His chest emitted a strong glow of light. A gasp escaped his mouth. Sarox' Keyblade glowed on its tip like a pulse. That's when he realized that Max had done it. He had opened his power. Now all it needed was a _key_ to unlock it. Raising the Keyblade, he chanted:

_Sacred Key,_

_Unleash your untapped power._

_Shine away the darkness_

_And preserve the world with your "light"!_

_Master of the Keyblade._

_AWAKE!_

Max' chest glowed brighter. Brighter still.


End file.
